


sleeping sun

by arisirie



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Literal Sleeping Together, Lowercase, References to Depression
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-08
Updated: 2020-12-08
Packaged: 2021-03-10 06:20:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 450
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27949718
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/arisirie/pseuds/arisirie
Summary: marianne has doubts while claude sleeps.
Relationships: Marianne von Edmund/Claude von Riegan
Kudos: 19





	sleeping sun

**Author's Note:**

> if this seems familiar, you might've seen it on tumblr before! i'm just adding it to this site (after a long time, actually; i wrote this even before 3h was out) to make it easier for any mariclaude shippers to find since tumblr is a bit of a blackhole despite its tagging system
> 
> enjoy!

surely she was dreaming.

that’s what this was, wasn’t it? a dream? a fantasy? a fairytale that she read once upon a time?

she didn’t deserve to be happy. not like this, in his arms, the grip on her waist protective. in his reach, his breathing soft, as if she ever had the chance to be here.

in this moment, with claude, like she was _loved_.

she didn’t deserve any of this.

brushing the hair out of his face, she studied his features. soft, as he slept. handsome. precious and valuable and more than she could ever be.

why?

it was all she could ask. why her? why this? why anything?

she thought of leaving—leaving before this got worse. before she dragged him into the depths of this abyss. painful, lonely, dark—somewhere even the brightest of stars wouldn’t be able to shine.

yet still, she was here, almost addicted to something she couldn’t afford.

cradling his cheek in her hand, she tensed when he shifted, opening his eyes to focus on her. he smiled, lazy, as his arms drew her closer. tighter this time, like he didn’t want to let her go.

(why wouldn’t he let her go?)

"mari, why are you awake?" the amusement in his voice was palpable. "do you need to go to the bathroom?"

she shook her head.

his brows furrowed. "what’s wrong?"

"nothing." but her breathing hitched and her vision blurred. "it’s fine."

he stayed quiet. drawing her close, their noses touched as he rested his forehead against hers. tears welled up in her eyes.

"you’ll stay then?" he whispered.

something told her he wasn’t talking about the bathroom. "only if you want me to."

"but do you?"

"i don’t know."

he let out a sigh, quiet, as if he was content with the world. "after you sleep, maybe you’ll have an answer." when she looked away, he smiled, wiping her cheeks as he pressed a quick kiss on her eyes. _tender_. "but if you still don’t, you can stay here until you do."

to her, it was a choice—one she had difficulty making. to him, it seemed like a promise to wait for as long as she needed.

she didn’t want him to wait. "and once i do?"

"you can leave," he told her, "and we’ll go together."

she stared at him, watching the way he looked back. unwavering, patient. warm, familiar. like summer. like the sun. far, yet close. something she would let burn everything she could ever offer.

tucking her head under his, she closed her eyes.

"okay," she said. "okay."

if she had the right to be here—to be anywhere—then she didn’t want to wake up.


End file.
